9 G57 
py 1 



.RECOLLECTIONS OF BROOKLINE, 



HEINCl AX ACC;orXT OF THE 

HOUSES, THE FAMILIES, AND 
THE ROADS, 

IN THE YEARS 1800 TO 1810 



BY 



SAMUEL ASPINWALL GOUDARD. 



BIRMINOHA^M, EN'OLAND : 

PRINTED BY E. C. OSBORNE, NEW STREET. 



RECOLLECTIONS OF BROOKLINE, 



i;i:iN(i AN ACCOl'NT OF TIIK 

TIOISES, THE FAMILIES, AND 
THE IJOADS, 

I Tsr ij 11 (> (J i^L j^ 1 N ii: , 

IN THE YEARS 1800 TO 1^0. 
HV 



SAMUEL ASl'LWVALl. CiODDAIlU 



• • • 
• •• 



BinMISOITAM, CN'OLAND: 

riilMtU BY L. L. OSBORNE, NEW STUEET. 







Amer. Ant. Soc, 
25 Jl 1907 



TO TirE RKyVDKR. 



TI." f !' ' • '■ <^ ll.c I , aii.l tlie 

i:. ...i , 111 i.: io, w:w 1 .i in the 

•* Br.Mikliiio TnuiHcript," in the early port of tlie prcneut year. It ia 

fondly siipjH.mMl that th«' Rw. I>i. into tlu^ li: 

of thf town, wouKl huvr l»cen ihi _... . ... l wit!» a Riu.,;... 

account of it, for the yearn 1700 to 1710 ; an«i the niitiqiuiry or hiKtorlcil 
HtiKlcnt «»f onohtin«hv«l ycirn hrnrj-, whu m; idantof oneuf IIh 

Itr«-*«Mit faniili*- '"•'■- ''^ '*■ ■ ' <*«jual gi.v, . ••'lin^ in with 

till iniplf, u .0, In thJH . and also in 

the KUp|)OHilion that Honie <»f the many worthy |»eople of the gmnl old 
town at the pivxent time, may fcvl an intenrat in the subject, it has Ixh'h 
det^Tuiined t> print a limit<sl numlKT of oopicH in a jKiniphli't ft>i-ni, to 
meet such requii-ement It is now sixty two years since the writer first 
left his native t43wn, but he can truly «*ay of it ; 

" Wheix^'erc I ron-!. "-^ 'itever climes to see, 
Mv heart untra\ udlv turns to tliee." 



RECOLLECTIONS OF BROOKLINE. 



FROM 1800 TO 1810, <Sz,c. 



To the Editor of the ^^ BrooElne Transcript y 
Sir, 

There are probably but few persons living who have a distinct 
recollection of all the houses in Brookline, and of the families occu- 
pying them, in the early years of the present century ; but whether 
so or not, an account of them, with some passing remarks, may be 
sufficiently interesting to justify your placing it before your 
readers. 

I will premise that I write on the spur of the moment, stimula- 
ted perhaps by seeing my name brought before my old townsmen 
in a recent number of your paper, the only number I have ever 
seen. I write entirely from memory, not having referred to any 
books or documents, nor having consulted any one whatever, and 
consequently there may be some errors, but I believe the account 
will be found generally correct. 

At the commencement of this period there were but two houses 
on the borders of Jamaica pond besides the Acqueduct house : viz. a 
red brick house opposite the centre on the east side, occupied by a 
French family, and a house at the south-west corner of the pond, 
at the entrance of the road to upper Brookline, occupied by a Mr. 
Brimmer. At a later date, say about the year 1807, Mr. James 
Perkins, of Boston, built a house on the east side, towards the 
north end of the pond. 

Mr. Brimmer kept in his fields a number of mules, said to be 
very vicious. They were the terror of the children who had to 
pass down that way to Jamaica plain, to do shopping at the well 
known "small-wares" .shop of Mr.^. Brewer, and the equally well- 
known " crockery" shop kept by Mrs. Star. At a later period 



Mr. Brimmer's house was pnrcha5;efl and occupied by a Captain 
Prince, from lio^ton. He and Mr. Perkins kept sail boats on the 
j>"ii(l. Above Mr. Iiriimii»-r's, procctMlin^' toward BrookHre, was a 
li<'U>e occupied l^y a butclu-r ; next above that, perhaps .six hun- 
dred yards, was Mr. Samuel Heath's, and immediati-ly above that, 
Mr. .St«|»lKMi Child s ; all thest* were on the north side of the road, 
and in lii)xbury. Mr. Child w;us a kind-hearted man and a good 
neighbour. It was related of him that when a young man, upon 
the Janjaica Plain !■ hou.s<* being nmfetl in, and the scatlold- 

ing t (l^. 1' 'l.wn, he i entirely around the roof on the row of 

shin. nd from the oaves. 

The liiookline line v tly above Mr. Child's, alx»ut, as I 

8Ui)iK>.se, three-fourths « . .. .....c from Jamaica pond, and the first 

house we c<»me to, was Mr. .lohn Harri.s'. He had several sons ; 
tho eldest, liiiijamin, went to Vermont and Ux)]i a farm there ; the 
youngist, Luther, graduated at college. There were two or three 
other hoU'-es in thi^ ilu>t<r ; one on the south siile and the others 
on the ntirth si«le of the road. The widow Harris lived in one, 
and Klijah Child in another. Mr. Elijah (Miild had l>een to sea 
in his early days, and by .'»«»me chance had been thrown upon the 
Arabian coast, and had wandered in the wilderness of Sinai. Pro- 
ceeding onward some three Innxlred yards, we come to a lu»u.se on 
the right hand sitle, at the head of a lane leading to Mr. Citxldard's, 
thi-n newly construeted, by whom I mver knew, but it was occu- 
i)ied afterwards by Mr Samuel H. Walley, of Boston. A small 
hou.se wii.-% built directly op|H>site. about tlu* year I. SOS, but I do 
not recollect who lived in it. Continuing onward half a mile or 
.Ml, wc come to a road on the right, leailing towards the centre of 
the town, upon the upjuT side of which, on the corner made by 
the junction of the roads, was a house occupied by a Mr. Woodward. 
Further on. .some hundreds of yards, was the .s<."hool-hou,>^', used 
in the summer as a woman s school. an«l four months in the win- 
ter, as a man's school. Nearly facing the school-house, on a 
private road loading towards " Spring Street," was a hou.'ie owned 
by Mr. John Harris, and occupied by Ensign YAVis. Beyond the 
school-house, on the left, was a small hou.se occupied by a family 
of the name of Hervey, and beyond that was the residence of Mr. 
Caleb Craft, a very substantial fanner. His son married Mi.ss 
Brewer, daughter of Mr. Stephen Brewer, of the Punch Bowl 
vilhige. Beytuid Mr. Craft's, was Mr. Thaddeus Jack.son's, lie was 
also a very repectable farmer. I believe there was no other house 
in Brookline beyond : 1 was never up so high but once. 

Returning now to Mr. Woodward's comer, and taking the road 
t<^ the town, we ]\ass on the left, a hou.se situated in the field, 
built by Dr. William S])ooner, about 1802, but he seldom resided 
there. Continuing a winding course through the wooils and by 



the woods, for three parts of a mile, or more, we come to Mr. John 
Corey's, close by the entrance of what is now called, I believe, 
" Goddard Avenue." 

Leaving the road which contiaued down the town, and pro- 
ceeding by a private road due east, for nearly half a mile, we 
come to Captain Joseph Goddard's.* This at the time, and for 
years after, was the most retired and rural spot in Brookiine. 
Half a mile from the public roads on every side, surrounded by 
fruit trees, woodlands, rocky pastures, and verdant meadows, it 
formed a little settlement of itself, and its people no more thought 
of feeling solitary, than did the residents in the centre of Boston. 
From the hill in front of the house a magnificent view could be 
had of Boston, its harbour, Boxbury, Dorchester, Charlestowu, 
Cambridge, and the lower part of Brookiine. The house was 
built by John Goddard, the father of Joseph, in the year 1771 ; 
/fis father and grandfather having occupied a house on the same 
place before him. Joseph Goddard married a niece of Dr. Wra. 
Aspinwall. He was a man of remarkably sound judgment, faith- 
ful in what he undertook, and of sterling integrity. 

Leaving this old homestead and proceeding east for half a mile, 
we pass Mr. Isaac Cook's on a knoll on the left. This house was 
built about the year 1809, on land sold to him by Joseph Goddard. 
Mr. Cook was a Boston man, and did business in Fore Street. 
Two hundred yards from Mr. Cook's, the public road is reached, 
and from that point by Jamaica Pond to the Boxbury high road, 
about one and a half miles, there was no turn-out, nor any house 
until ]\Ir. James Perkins', before named, was built. About two 
hundred yards from Mr. Cook's gate, on this road by the Pond, 
the Brookiine and Boxbury line crossed the road, coming from 
the Punch Bowl tavern, and pursuing its course just above Mr. 
Child's as aforesaid ; then over the Harris Hill to the " Spring 
Street" border. Turning from Mr. Cook's gate, near the entrance 
of the Avenue, to the left down the hill, we come to Mr. Nathaniel 
Winchester's. Mrs. Winchester was a remarkably clever woman ; 
if any of her neighbours were ill, or in trouble, they sent for 
" Mrs Winchester." She was a Bowman, and a relative of one 
of the former Governors of Massachusetts. She had four sons 
and three daughters. 

Proceeding up the hill we come to a small house occupied by a 
Mr. Meiiam. This was purchased with the grounds around, 
about the year 1803, by Mr. Thomas C. Amory, of Boston, who 
built npon it and laid out the grounds in an ornamental manner, 
making of it a very pretty summer residence. Soon after, say 
1804 or 1805, Mr. Samuel G. Perkins, also of Boston, purchased 
land adjoining and built a house, laying out the grounds artistically 
and some years after he built a tenant house and a coach house 

* Father of the writer. 



in connection, on the opjxwitc side of the road. The house was 
occupied fi»r a perioil, by a Dane, HUpi>oj?cd by the gossips, to be a 
r»•fli^'ee and a nobh ; It wjm al>"Ut tlic time that Bcrna<lotte 

look jMnsse-ssion «j1 :i. Pitssing on, wc come to a huusc 

bciongni;; to Mr. George Cabot ; he must have purchased it with 
l.trL^'f tniets of I.I • ' ' ' ; < r Ijout the 

}\ar ITliO. Ml . . jjly court- . 

couH and courtly manner, and wa.> highly re.s|)ected. He beK)nged 
at o! ' ". ' t' • ' ix'tary of tlu' Navy, 

and ; , . _ memory, was built 

under iiis au.'^piccs. Thiii house was aftenvanis taken and occupied 
by Mr ' ' *' ' ' ' ' ir lsn3. OpjK.site Mr. 

Mr. Hal' . -. - wton, was a coaclihouse 

and a small tenement in connection, occupieil by Mr. Perkins) 
;;ardrntr '" ' ■ Mr. B.i' on the hill, \v;us a house built 

bv Captain i _ . ii, a .mji. ... .... of Mr. Babct>ck's, in the year 

I - '.'> : he hail been iu the India trade, and had a (lenchant for 
I :ind njade rather lar^'«* pr iis for their accom- 

L. ..... :au 1 believe it canu* to i ^ Proceeding along 

tliis roiwl we come to Mr. John Warren's house, built about the 
year 1hu7. He had in i-* laid i iie wall iHrhap.s than 

any other man in Neu ;, ..^ d. andn..^... ...ive been appropriate- 
ly called " Stonewall" Warren. 

C'ontinuin;,' <'n, aiout ••m- third of a mile we come Uj a small 
b.Mi... ...oupird by Mr. 'late, a (lermun, gardener to Mr. Stephen 

! 'U ; this was at the junction of the roiul coming from Mr. 

.lohn Corey'.H, ; iiKiitionetl. Afterward a gardener of the 

name of John \'. ...i ..upicd the place. Further on. ab<»ut five 

hundred yards, on the .sjime side, wa*^ the schoolhou.se, kept four 
months in the year by a V and in the sumuier months, by 

a woman teacher. On tlu ■ ' Mr. Thcunas H. IVrkins 

built a lu)U>o and a gai al>out the year IsoT. 

James and 'i'h<»mits H. IVrkin.-N, were for many years large mer- 
chants in the Imlia trade. Continuing on about one hundred 
yards, we come to the old Newton Road, and turning to the left 
we shortly come to Mr. Benjamin White's old hou.se on the right, 
and imuunliately after to hi.^ new hou.^e. on the same side. ^Ir. 
White was one of the most substantial farmers in Brookline. 
Further on was Mr. Caleb Ganhier's. He hatl three fine grown 
up daughters, two younger ones, and one son. Passing down 
Fulton Street, New York, in the year 1857, and meeting some 
five hundred persons coming from the Jersey City Ferry, I saw a 
man in the crowd who.se face apix*ared familiar to me, and whom 
1 at once confronted, and raising my hat .s;iid, " Mr Gardner, I 
presume." " Yes." " No considerable demonstration was made 
then, lest the natives should notice our weakness, but as soon 
as we were alone, we fraternized." 



J 



This was not Dr. Livingstone, but Mr, Samuel J. Gardner, the 
son mentioned above. I had not seen him for forty years, nor 
did I know that he was living. Further on, we come to Mr. 
Ebenezer Richards', who afterwards opened the house to the pub- 
lic, and some of the Brookline balls were held there. Beyond 
was IMr. Harbacks, and then Mr. Jonathan Hammond's, who 
afterwards built a store ju^t above on the other side of the Wor- 
cester 'J'urnpike. This turnpike was constructed during the years 
1804 and LSOa. A daughter of Mr. Hammond married a Mr. 
Crane, son of Alajor General Crane, of the Massachusett's Militia. 
There was a house beyond Mr. Hammonds', occupied by a Mr. 
Hyde, but whether in Brookline or Newton I do not know. 

Returning down town by the Turnpike, in about three-fourtlis 
of a mile, we come opposite to Mr. Jonathan Mason's house, on 
the right, between the turnpike and the old Newton Road ; it 
was probably built between the years 1790 and 1795. Mr. Mason 
had five daughters, all fine women, and two sons ; the fourth 
daughter Miss Meriam, was the beauty of the period ; she married 
Mr. Sears. Mr. Mason, a celebrated lawyer, was at one time 
Senator to Congress, from Massachusetts. Next below Mr. Mason's 
was an old house belonging to a Mr. Baker ; It was taken down 
about the year 1805, and soon after, say 1807, his son, Nathaniel 
Baker, a carpenter, built a house hard by, on the other side of 
the turnpike. Now crossing the turnpike and the fields to the 
right, to the old Newton Road we come to Mr. Jonathan Jackson's 
on the Newton Road. He had a brother living in Middleton, 
Connecticut, whom I met in New York in the year 1844 ; a man 
much respected. Directly opposite on the other side of the road 
was Mr. Stephen Higginson's, a house built by him about the 
year 1792 or 1793. Below this on the left hand side was Mr. 
John Heath's, he was brother to Major General Heath, who com- 
manded in the New York Highlands under General Washington, 
and had West Point entrusted to him after the defection of 
ArnoM. General Heath lived in Roxbury, at the foot of the 
Parker hill, the south east corner. Mr. John Heath's eldest 
daughter married John Goddard, of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, 
eldest son of Mr. Jolin Goddard, before spoken of ; another daugh- 
ter married some twenty-five years after, Mr. John Howe, of Bos- 
ton. A son, Mr. Ebenezer Heath, built a house just below on the 
otlier side of the road, about the year 1790, and married Miss 
Williams, of Roxbury, a most excellent person ; they had a very 
fine family. Proceeding down the road about three hundred yards^ 
we come to Mr. David Ackers' house on the left, at which point a 
branch road led off to Brighton, and about half a mile up this 
road lived Brigadier General Gardner. His fatlier was killed at 
the Battle of Lexington, and was a great loss to the town ; a re- 
lative also, I believe an uncle, was killed at the battle of Bunker's 



Hill, (lenenil (Jardnor ha I ♦ v . -^^ns and V-'/hter. Th«' eldest 
H4)ii trnMliiated at Harvard * tlw«i ilicd early. He 

i: 1 tiiii.' tip' Wid .\s ;. ul iio.xbury, and Iut 

• I . . .... ....ml married Mr. ( .... ■•; Uoxhury, who built a 

lnMiH<' oti the )^)Ht4)ii liii.'id ali.Mit a inil«' fnnii the Punch Howl 
VillaK«\ Mil the hill hid.-. ' uiueh i-steeuu-d, 

he h.id a viTy fine tciK-r v . . ..,,.i ,,, . ...i.. . i. .u with Mr. Ebeii- 
cZ4.r Heath, who wa.s viry r«)ii<l nf luu.sie, led the .singers at the 
meeting hnu.si* f<»r many years. They were i)n)mineiit men in 
in the town f"V ' ' ■ ' » •* ' T' • -nd (Jeneral (iardiuTs were, 
I believe, two h j»h and .Samuel White. thefH' 

were the l.'i.-'t h >u . ^ n. ne on that road. 

Ketur- ' ' ^^ \ J i; — :■■ - down the road, >^< ,.iiii. 

to Mr J. living upon his income ; 

he hail suppiu'd the anny I .lecumulated a small 

fortune. U ' ^^- ?•• .11 Hyslop's. and there 

wa-' a tenah is; they w. re all near 

t ' ' ther and on tii i Mr Hy-^lop w.ts also 

' • t ; he ni.iiiH'j pm wife Miss Woodward, of 

n ; lie had a " .snii on the top «»f the hill, 

ba<k ot tlie hous«. which command«*<i a very tine proHjicct. A Mr. 

^- v. s and family lived at onr )>< - ^ •' *• nant house, and 

rw;ird.>» a Mr. r«Tr\ ; K th ; > who attended 

the winter sidiool. 

Below Mr. Hv , on tiie >ame 

side. wjiH a hou i, al>mt the year 

l.so.'t, on land b lUgiit M Mr. John (joddard. and immediately 
below w.i. .Mr .M «: ' ' '■ ' ' ' ', he retired after 

h'iivmi; ill. .'li ^ ut the year 1790. 

A iv»rtion of the hou.^e waj* occupKnt by iiis tenant, Mr. Meriam, 
a sliort tinje. Mr. (io ' ' ' ' ' the rir.>t wife he 

had one daughter, by nen. The ehlest, 

John, graduatitl at Harvanl and tinally settled at Port,smouth, 
New Hamp-^hire. v' ' w.is much esteemed and could have 
been (io\ernor of t at any time if he would have con.sent- 

cd to be nominated. Five other sons were living in 1804, and 
.<ome of them fro?ii forty to si.xty years afterward. John's .SBHh 
grandfather Jo>eph, was the .second .son of William, the .'Seventh 
son of Edward (ioihlard, of Englesham, Wiltshire, England, 
William was a merchant and a citizen nf Lontlon, of tlie (irocer's 
Company ; he loft in the year of the great plague, KJGG, and came 
to Ho.ston with a wife and three son.s, and not many years after, 
Joseph settled in Hrookline. and his gravestone is .still to Ik? seen 
in the old burying ground. John Goddard was a man «»f a pecu- 
liarly sound and «li.scriminating mind, and was for many years a 

•This wife, a vor> ■ '. «»i'l >•• ^vr Uttor ye«n«, that not one of her chiWrcn 

hftcl ever i-a\i"«o«l lui 



10 

prominent man in his native town. "Dr. Pierce had a high opinion 
of him ; he died at the age of 86. Benjamin Goddard, son of tlie 
above, built a house just below on the same side, about the year 
1807. He married first, Miss May ; and second, Miss Brown, 
both of Boston ; he had no chihh'en and died at the age of 96. 

There was no house on the Worcester turnpike from this point 
to the Punch Bowl village, besides a ladies' school house. 

Leaving the turnpike and proceeding toward the meetinghouse, 
we come to a house owned by Mr. Hyslop, who lived there during 
the early period ; and it was afterwards occupied by a Mr. Carnes, 
and subsequently by a Mr. Gouge, Clerk of the Market, Boston. 
Further on, upon the right, at the junction of the road leading to 
Mr. Geoi-ge Cabot's, aforesaid, was the Brick school-house, the only 
brick building in the town. Here school was kept from March to 
December, by a Collegian, and in it the Town's meetings were held. 
Turning up the road leading to Mr. Cabot's, we pass a house on 
the right, amidst a clump of trees, built by Mr. Richard Sullivan, 
about the year 1810 ; he was a brother of William and George 
Sullivan, of Boston. Beyond this at the bottom of the hill, was 
a house owned, and occupied in part, by iMr. Joshua Boylston, a 
nephew I believe of Dr. Zabdiel Boylston. A family of the name 
of Dascombe occupied a portion of the house, and managed the 
farm. Mr. Boylston died about the year 1806, leaving a widow 
and an only daughter. Captain Joshua Clark, afterwards Deacon 
Clarke, married the daughter ; he had the house pulled down and 
another erected in this same place about the year 1810, which was 
burnt down just as it was finished, from what cause was not 
known, but another was immediately erected on the same spot, to 
which the townspeople generously contributed, the loss having 
fallen upon the builder. About four hundred yards beyond, on 
the other side of the road, the left hand side, was Mr. Nathaniel 
Murdock's, a carpenter. His eldest daughter married Mr. Caleb 
Clark. The was no house between this and Mr. Cabot's, or then 
Mr. Babcock's before named, except a coachhouse on the right, 
built by Mr. Babcock. 

We must now return to the school-house, opposite to which was 
the new meeting-house, built in 1805. It was a spacious and 
commodious building, and highly creditable to the town ; the bell 
was given by ]\Ir. Stephen Hig:;inson, and was imported from 
England. A Mr. Banner, an Englishman, was the architect ; the 
sides of the building were framed on the ground and raised 
bodily by windlasses, a novel mode at the time. The choice of 
pews was put up at auction, and the money thus raised contributed 
materially towards the cost of the building. Doctor Aspinwall 
gave five hundred dollars for first choice, evidently as a donation 
towards the exjienditure ; the dedication day was a great holiday 
in the town. 






n 

Down the hill on tlie o])positc side of the road, on the spot 
•KvupiLMl Icii to t!ie parsonajfc, stoud thcohl lacetiu'; 

i ' ■ V m\, t' • ' the west end. witli en- 

'" - i iu\i\ i\ ilFf, with an aisk' loiulin^ 

from 11 U> the jmipit on the north side. Over the i»ulpit wit>< a 
1 ' ' 1 .1 n ,.\tendin;^' round tlic 

. i lie the pulpit. The 
lioiine wttM about ninety years ohi, having? been built about 171 '> ; 

,'♦11 *■ - IIM I'll II' 111 

It Ii i-l . it the 

N'-ir 1 - ^ ^ ,^ wits 

(piite conini'Ntion.s, had a reHpecLible 8pire, and was altogether 
Ver\ I of its » 

'1 ilarvanl ' ^ , wa>< or- 

dainei in the year 1796. The tiret two children born in the 

:i. It wi\s many years 
• divinity. Mr. Pierce 
often r I with ■ ilxmrii Uonal Minist<?r8; 

'' ' 1. Mr. r Sj.rinii Street, 

i' 1 irri» - i . : r, .\Ir. llt)mer, of 

Mewton. Dr. ^k'kley. «»f H Mr. Gray came every spring, 

alxnit May, aii<! -e with the hymn : 



I liath lilwt. 

lie I. .\liich WiL^ ratlier a^'recabli' 

and at I. u. in May I.SU'J, he reiid 

the parable of the l*r. n,, and took his text from it. Mr. 

.I»)hn (io(I(!ard alw : I that ! I children could tell 

him where tlje le.\t -'lUehi.. — of them reniendx'red 

textH. Parson Bradford ;i in the spring; he was always 

quite j)oetical in retui - for the return of the se^t^on, 

*' when all n;iture was ,,.....,...., .ato life, * and "the voice of the 
turtle Wiis heard in the land." He waij somewhat eccentric, and his 
views Were by no means grovelling ; he said in one of his .sermons, 
he " dill not see why one might not as well go to heaven in a 
coach, as logo trudging along afoot." Mr. Harris, in praying, had 
a peculiar way of throwing his head back and holding up his chin 
which w;ls rather ])ainful to see. 

When they were excavating the Whalley hill for the Worcest4.T 
turnpike, which must have been about the year 1804, a man was 
killed by a fall of gravel. He was the .son of a minister in Vermont, 
who came down to the funeral, and preached a sermon in the old 
meeting house, taking for his text, '* Be not forgetful to entertain 
strangers, ftn* thereby .some have entertained angels unawares." 
He was Very kindly treated, a subscrii)tion wasrai.seil for him. and 
he was very grateful. He had been in the Revolutionary War, 



12 

and had had a four pound shot in his leg. He said the Brookline 
people had no need to pray to go to paradise, for they already 
lived in Paradise. I am not quite sure whether it was this 
minister, or another who visited the town, who said this. It was 
certainly very beautiful in the vicinity of the old church, on a 
spring or summer's day, when the locust trees were out, lilacs in 
full bloom, the fruit trees in full blossom, and all the forest trees 
covered with fresh foliage. Looking from the Goddard Hill, in 
blossoming time, down upon Brookline, the whole country appear- 
ed one mass of blossom. The old meeting house was taken down 
soon after the otlier was dedicated ; the new one was then the 
only house of worship in the town. 

The parsonage was next below, and hard by the old church. 
Mr. Pierce, who resided there married Miss Tappan, of North- 
ampton, sister t) Mr. John Tappan, of Boston, and Arthur and 
Lewis Tappan, of New York, the well known aboliti(Hiists and 
philanthropists. (Mr. Pierce was a native of Dorchester.) Next 
below on the same side was Mr. Thomas Whalley's, he was brother 
to ]\Ir. S. H. Wlialley, was independent in circumstances and 
quite eccentric and domestic. He married a French lady, a 
very handsome person ; slie was, I believe, a refugee from St. 
Domingo, at the time of the massacre and flight. 

Directly below on the opposite side, was Deacon Samuel Clark's; 
he and i\Ir. John Robinson were Mr. Pierce's first deacons, and 
tliey continued deacons, I believe, so long as they lived. On Mr. 
Clark's death he was succeeded in the office by his son Joshua. 
He had f )ur sons, Joshua, who married Miss Rebecca Boylston, as 
already named, Samuel, who graduated at Harvard College, and 
was eventually settled as a minister in Burlington, Vermont, 
Stephen, a protege of Esquire Sharp's, residing with him, but died 
young, and Caleb, who took to the farm, and who married Miss 
Murdock. Samuel was very fond of Captain Goddard, and would 
often leave his studies in the morning, and run across the country 
to Mr. Goddard's, a mile in a few minutes, to breakfast. His visits 
were a great treat to the children, for he and Mr. Goddard w^ould 
have much i)leasant and amusing conversation. These were, 
perhaps, for the Brookline people, about as pleasant days as were 
ever passed there. 

Proceeding down the road to the Punch Bowl village, a lane 
turned to tlie left crossing the Worcester Turnpike and coming to 
the Brighton road at the "Tolman" corner, about three fourths of 
a mile. There was no house on this lane besides a ladies' school- 
house, at the left hand corner of its junction with the Worcester 
Turnpike, built about the year 1808, and presided over by Miss 
Stebbins. Without turning into this lane, we keep straight for- 
ward for a quarter of a mile or more, and come to a house occu- 



i;; 

pifil l)y .Mr. Spur, ])r (•!* ihc Broukliiio and Boston stajje 

coacli, wliicli i»li«<l b.i- ,^ 1 forth twicv :i day. His brother, 

Zoohuniali, \va,s ]wrhai»s, the lar;;rst man in Boston. 

Ktt pin;; furward fmr htuidre(l yards, we come to Mr. Oliver 
\V' on thf ri^ht hand, huilt about l-Sni',. He wa.s a very 

!e man, a p-«''it r.:id«'r. a ]»arti«-ular friend of Mr. (i. \V. 
blearns ; )ic ravf ' of Koltinson C'nisoe, 

which V. ■ ' ' •' . ". . .., I- .. -t, many times. Mr. 

White ' — , and ! • that the Mr-i. White who 

died last year, aged i>*), wan hi» widow, but have not been able to 
aiH.*crtain. 

\Vf now como to the Pun'^h Bowl villafi^, and oj)jx^site Mr. 
01 i, «'f the road, was Mr. Thomas 

Wl •" "'.irh was "The Store," a 

^'n». !. Here the boys bouj^ht 

fifth h(H)k« and iine^, and im)\\ 1 .'^hot. At it<i front wa.s a 

I ' ' 'v>--^ • '.-:•: the Ith of July, and 

«l. V\Hn\ traiiiin;^' day.s 
the captanw of th- parading' and exercising 

their III *' •'' marrh them down 

t4) the - rs and cheese, of 

which the boys and si;;hi-H^'ors came in for a plentiful .share. Mr. 
White t. 

The i veni, kept by Mr. lianphton, was the oidy 

other dwelling houbc in Brookline at the time, in the village. 
Sin.vtlun, 11' ' ' ' ' ■ - '■ ' 1 pushed down to 
the bn»ok ab'tr , Jit of " the store" 

just below Mr. Oliver \S hito s, on the Koxbury side, dwelt a Mr. 
Haii.ock. ! ' " . . 1 ^jp l)aven|)ort. a tailor ; 

then canu- . ^ hatter's, «K'CUj»ied at one 

time. 1 believe. l)y a Mr. Wendall; then Mr. James Pierce's, a 
sho. ' • • - ■ - ^'; '• V r,.'s; I believe 

hew.. .. ' Mr. Stephen 

Brewer's, .i blacksmith, and Shcritf of the County. Ltist of all 
CJime Dr. Onwiier's. he di- ' ' ' . - in the battle of Lexing- 
ton, and killed a man wit: 

Keturniiii^ uj) the village, leaving "the store" and the Worces- 
ter Turn]»ike. which comes in here, to the left, and taking the 
roa<.l to Brighton, we ])as^ on the left, Ix'tween the roa4ls, a small 
house, occupied by Mr. Samuel Slack, and further on, ujKJn the 
same side w;v< a .small house in the field occupied by a family of the 
name of Jordan, and opposite on the other side of the road was 
Mr. William Mar^^hall's, a gentleman living u|>on his income. He 
married late, a second time, I presume, Miss Bet.^^ey Dorrell. 
Maria Curtis, who lived with him, ]K^rhaj>s his niece, was one of 
the noticeable young women uf Brookline, at the time, 1800 to 1805. 



14 



She, Sarah Davis, Julia Aspinwall, Plannah Clark, Rebecca Boylston, 
Caleb Gardner's three daughters, Julia Hammond, Nancy Win- 
chester, and Hannah Goddard, were contemporary, and would 
have done credit to any town, in personal appearance or useful 
culture. 

Above Mr. Marshall's, on the same side, was Mr. Ebenezer 
Davis'. He married a Miss Aspinwall, I believe a sister of Mr. 
John Aspinwall, hereafter named, and a niece of Dr. Aspinwall ; 
their eldest son, Robert, married Miss Stearns, 'sister to Mr. G. w! 
Stearns. She and her brother were the two handsomest persons 
in Brookline. Some years after her husband's death, she married 
Mr. Elijah Corey. Another of Mr. Davis' sons, Thomas, was 
many years after, Mayor of Boston. 

Opposite to Mr. Davis', was Mr. Benjamin Davis', a brother ; 
he died early, I suppose about 1804. His widow remained in the 
house, and a portion of it was occupied by Mr. George Washington 
Stearns, who married Hannah Goddard. No two better persons than 
these last ever lived in Brookline. Leaving the road to Cambridge 
to the riglit, and proceeding up the Brighton road, we pass the Hay 
scales on the right, at the junction of the three roads, and come 
to Mr. Jonathan Dana's on the same side. He was independent in 
means, married late in life, but whether the second time I know 
not, and lived a very retired life. Next beyond, lived Mr. James 
Leeds, a shoemaker ; he married a daughter of Mr. Timothy 
Corey, senior. Next beyond was Mr. Holden's, a wheelwright. 
Ihese three were all on the right hand side of the road, and I am 
not sure that there was not another house in the row, but I believe 
not. A little above, on the opposite side, at the junction of the 
long lane from Deacon Clark's, previously spoken of, was Mr. 
Jonas lolman s, a shoemaker. On the opposite corner, left hand 
was a house belonging to Dr. Aspinwall, but who lived in it I do 
not know Beyond on the right hand, lived Mr. Samuel Croft 
also of independent means, a very quiet man ; he often took a 
ride in his chaise to the Punch Bowl villaive, to hear the news. 
His wife was a very friendly woman. Miss Sarah Davis, daughter 
ot Lbenezer, was her protegee, whom the young people were fond 
of and were very happy when with her. Further on, the same 
side. Deacon John Robinson resided ; he was a tanner, and was 
as before stated, one of the deacons from the ordination, 179G to 
the day of his deatli ; he was very much respected. A little 
beyond was Mr. Withington's, I believe his name was Enos • he 
also was a tanner, but whether in partnership with Deacon Robin- 
son or not, 1 never knew. Further on upon the other side of the 
road, on the hillside, was Dr. William Aspinwall's : he was perhaps 
the most prominent man of the old inhabitants of Brookline • he 
was alternately Representative and Senator to the General Court 



1.^ 

ftiul ui>on the G<wernor's Crmncil. His son William in-adiiated at 
Harvard, ami for H<niie yiars practised in C(»iinL'Ctioii w'liU his 
fatluT, as ft phyHJciaii, but died early. Another son, Tlionia.-*, also 
liiated at Harvard (,'ollc::«-. In the War <>f \s\'2, he wa.s ap- 
|. ..;.ied (\ilonel in the re^Miiar army, and served nn<ier (Jeneral 
Scott. He was in the l>attle of Fort Krie, when the Duke of 
Wrllinj^ton's .S4>ldifrs from the IVninstila were encountered and 
Inaten, an«l in otht-r h'/'^- - -ervin^ with di.stin^uishod bravery. 

In one of th»*<<* hatt ^t an arm. On the return of peace 

he wjLS ai»jM»int ' ral at Ixndon, a nlace whicn he 

held for alKMit i .i> ,. ... , ....d where he Wft>< hifjhly rcjtjK'cted by 
the nol'ility and all who hai! intercourse with him. Dr. A.s])in- 
wair>< daujhter .Iidift marritd Mr. Iiewis Tappan, before named. 
lii'Vond Dr. .\ •'•"■'' " • ♦! - ,. hou.«es beloni^nnp to Mr. 
Timothy Corey .h ami Timothy, all substan- 

tial farmer> ; one wa.s on the h-lt iiaud and the others, I believe, 
on thr ri;,'ht, and I think there was not another house in Hro(»klinc 
l)eyoml, hut I never pav^-d ribov.- but once. Keturninj; now to 
the Tolman corner and r the Hri^diton roa<l toward the 

('■''' ! - : I •■ ■ nie I" : ' ^' • on the ri;;ht, which 

:i fnun t r to the .'Mst. March, 

and during the Kummer niontltH a.s a woman teacher's school, 
r on to t' '' - • -■ ^ road, w! • ' 'iie up from the Hay 

l»ef»ire ii ; 1 no hou . it in the intervening 

distance, and tununi; to the left, up that roa<l, we come to Mr. 
S' phen Shaqi's, gemr " '' ' ^" ire Shaq), on the left. He 
\. Town Clerk, and t» the (Jeneral Court for 

many years, and was rather an important man in the t<^)wn ; he 
died a I ' ' '' 1 Mr. iShaqt's came Major Jones' house, 

built a '<; ; lie marrie<l Mixs Hannah Clark, 

dauLrhter of Deacon Tlark. Further on, right hand side, was a house 
and farm owne«l by Mr. Walcott. and occupied by Mr. Stearns, who 
afterwards, I believe, jjurcha-^ed the place with much ad<litional 
land, to great profit. Beyond this were three houses, occupied by 
Mr. Moses (Jri_'^^-. Iii^ - "' ' C' • 1 Mr. .To.shua (Jrigg.s, 

who I believe \va.>^ a br ^ pheu was blown up 

whilst blasting a rock, and lost an eye. There was no other house 
on this road in Brookline. 

Cro.<sing easterly toward the Marshes, we come to Mr. Walcott's. 
be had a son named Samuel and several daughters. He was 
of a very old Brookline family and owned a fine estate. Pas- 
.sing on toward the marshes, was Mr. Ea^terbrooks, the la<t hou.se 
on this side the town. Returning now towards the centre of the 
town in the direction of the Cambridge road at its junction with 
the road fnnn Tolman's corner, we soon come to Mr. .Tohn Aspin- 
wall's, and passing on we come to Dr. Aspinwall's Smallpox 



jUN ly lyvj^ 



16 

Hospital on the left, among a clump of trees. Whilst this dread- 
ed disease ranged with great virulence, many years before, this 
was a noted place for patients, and Dr. Aspinwall practised with 
much success. 

Now leaving the carriage road, which came out at Mr. Stearns' 
corner aforesaid, and pursuing a course to the left by a private road 
for half a mile, more or less, we come to the old family mansion of 
the Aspinwalls under the great Ehn Tree, one of the most noted 
and ancient trees in tliis ])art of tlie country. Near by was another 
house, also belonging to Dr. Aspinwall. Who resided in these 
houses at the time I do not know, but I believe Miss Elizabeth 
Aspinwall resided in one, and Mr. Thomas Aspinwall, who was 
deaf and dumb, in the other. Samuel Aspinwall, the doctor's 
brother, and father to Mrs. Joseph Goddanl lived in the last 
named, up to the time of his death, I believe, but of this I am not 
certain. 

I have now noticed every family and have named every house 
and every public road in Boookline, that existed from the year 
1800 to 1810, and have finished, perhaps appropriately, but not 
designedly, with the old Aspinwall houses. 

The Aspinwall family was one of the oldest Brookline families. 
Their progenitor, who was of the Liverpool family, came to Bos- 
ton in the year 1628, and it is supposed came to Brookline, then 
called Muddy River, very soon, and if so, the Aspinwalls have 
lived there during nearly two and a half centuries. 

It should be mentioned that the Boston gentlemen, at this time, 
Messrs. Higginson, Mason, Sullivan, Amory, Perkins, and Bab- 
cock, resided in Brookline during the summer months, only. 

A fact may be mentioned which may appear extraordinary in 
these days, that the old and new meeting houses were never 
warmed during the period under consideration, but it will excite 
no surprise that the children attending suffered terribly from the 
cold, during the winter months. 



SAMUEL ASPINWALL GODDARD. 



Edf/baston, Warwicks/dre. Enrfland, 
December 25, 1S72. 



E. C. Osborne, Printlb, BiRMiNonAM, England. 



LIBRftRY OF CONGRESS 



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